http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1963637,00.html
In this article, the concept of telomere shortening was linked to aging. Telomere shortening is a phenomenon that I have heard thrown around before in connection with aging. While I do think that telomere shortening may have something to do with aging, I don’t believe it is the only genetic basis behind aging. As the article notes, environmental factors do appear to influence cell aging rates. Most mutations caused in genes by environmental factors are repaired before they become a larger issue. Telomere shortening may be linked to the decrease in a cells ability to repair mutations caused by environmental factors. This is just an idea but it will take years of research to discover if there is any relationship between telomere shortening and cell repair processes.
The article also says there is no quick fix for telomere shortening and if there is a fix, we may trade heart disease for a high risk of cancer. I am starting to believe that any “solution” for aging comes with a price tag and that maybe there is a reason humans possibly have a definitely life span of approximately 100 years for a reason we have yet to find.
Interesting thoughts Lynn! I agree that I think telomere shortening contributes to aging but it is difficult to determine how it ties in will all the other aspects of aging. I also liked you point about how fixing the telomere shortening may cause other negative consequences. Interesting how everything is so complex and intertwined. Thanks for your post!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of the concept of telomere shortening contributing to aging and I think it is very plausible. I do agree that solving the telomere shortening problem could result in other health issues.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a conference that I attended at the University of Iowa. They coined that understanding the shortening of telomeres was the key to the "fountain of youth"
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